Imagine a place where joints ache less, minds and memories remain stronger, digestion problems are few, a good night’s sleep is normal, and energy levels stay shockingly youthful – even at age 90 and beyond.

In this place cancer is virtually unknown. People’s arteries function as well at 85 as they did at 18 – and their odds of having a heart attack or stroke are the lowest in the world.

Places like this do exist today – in Okinawa, on the sun-drenched Mediterranean of Crete and even in the modern 7th day Adventist households of America.

What do these people have in common? Primarily, a healthy attitude and an even healthier diet. The foods people eat every day in these places might amaze you. On a single day in Okinawa, the average person eats nearly a dozen helpings of fruit and vegetables, seven servings of noodles, rice, and grain, plus tofu, fish, seaweed, and green tea. Dairy foods and red meat are rarely seen – or eaten. At night, friends knock back a glass or two of a fiery alcoholic drink made with hot peppers.

The menu is similar in Crete, where poultry and fish replace soy foods as the primary protein and locals sip their own homemade red wines. The story is the same with 7th Adventists, except they eat eggs and nuts for much of their protein. Many 7th Adventists are vegetarians who also abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and coffee.

The payoffs for a life free of cheese-drenched French fries, breakfast sweet rolls, and mega gulp drinks? Healthy-eating 7th Day Adventists live up to 9.5 years longer than other Americans, say researchers who tracked the diets and health histories of over 34,000 members of this Christian denomination. Okinawans have the longest life expectancy in the world – the average man lives to be 77, the average woman to 85. And more people on Okinawa have celebrated their 100th birthdays than people from anywhere else in the world – 35 in every 100,000. On Crete, the healthiest eaters were 25 percent less likely to die during a four-year study then their fellow countrymen who opted for more modern meals.

“We think diet plays an extremely important role in how long people in these parts of the world live and in how long they remain healthy, active, independent, and happy,” Says Bradley Wilcox, MD, of the Pacific Health Research Institute in Honolulu and lead researcher of the Okinawa Longevity Study. “A low calorie, low-fat, plant based diet is the key to maximizing life expectancy and minimizing the risk for all of the debilitating health problems that come with ageing.

In fact, what you put on your plate and in your mouth counts even more than whether or not you were born with longevity genes. “You could have Mercedes-Benz genes,” says Dr. Willcox, “but if you never change the oil, you are not going to last as long as a Ford Escort that you take good care of.”​This is a great lesson and one that I wrote about in a previous blog. You would not drive your car without changing the oil periodically and given it good fuel. Why would you do any less for your own body?

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Legal Notice​​The contents of this website, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained here (the “Content”) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The Content is not suitable for self-administration without regular monitoring by a qualified medical doctor in a supervised program. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in our Content.